“5.5” is where the Buffs are stuck right now when it comes down to winning total predictions. On August 18th, we saw Chris Fallica talk about this entire thing. Fallica’s main concern was that Deion Sanders’ team was going to make the same mistakes it did last year. Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders would probably be overworked and exhausted, the O-line would fail, and Shedeur would probably get blocked in by defenders. While Deion has revamped the team, what’s the guarantee that it’s going to work out? Hunter and Jordan Seaton, the new kid on the O-line, are going to be responsible for protecting the QB. Can they do it right?

“I just don’t think that’s realistic….even with Travis Hunter and some improved Talent in important areas,” was the first thing Gojo mentioned on the Gojo and Golic show. DraftKings took to X on August 20th to share the small clip from the show talking about CU’s chance of improving in the Big 12. “That’s a five-star true freshman, probably starting for them this fall,” Mike Golic noted. Deion Sanders had completely switched up the O-line of the team. He got in 6 new offensive linemen during the early transfer window and also freshman 5-star OT Jordan Seaton. Golic does not think that this is going to work for Deion. If we look at the stats, the new O-line has an average height of 6’5″ and that is massive. CU Alum, Matt McChesney, had mentioned during his visit to the camp, “All these motherf**kers so they are big as shit.” However, the star of the show, Seaton, with his stats, makes a very convincing argument that this year Deion’s team is going to work. On3’s Charles Power noted back on August 19th, “Seaton was among the most polished offensive linemen in the 2024 cycle.” The main things that stood out were his talent when it came down to the point of attack and his overall pass protection and polish. The kid has also clocked in a speed of 17MPH+ during a game and in 2023 while playing for IMG he ranked No.4 for helping the offense average around 33 points and around 150+ rushing yards. Despite being a freshman, he is more than capable of helping the QB out.

Heck, if we look beyond Seaton, Hunter, on the other hand, is somewhat of a prodigy himself. That kid already established what he was capable of when he landed 11 catches during the Buffs opener. Last year was grueling for Hunter because playing 2 roles got him extremely exhausted. This year Deion is focusing on him in the WR. And Daniel Jeremiah, on his scouting report, had noted that Hunter was a monster when he had the ball in his hands. And if we move past Hunter, we even got Drelon Miller in the WR role as well. During an interview with Ryan Koenigsberg, Will Sheppard, the new X-receiver, noted that Miller has shown amazing promise during the practice and he does not even feel like a freshman. That kid is already marked as the No.13 WR nationally. With all of these factors combined, it is easy to see that the Buffs could do some major damage this year. And let’s hope they do cause the NFL drafts are almost here for Hunter & Co.

A new chapter

Back on July 20th, we saw a glimpse of where Hunter could find himself next. Ian Cummings on his draft list for the Pro Football Network had mentioned that Hunter would be the perfect fit for the Patriots. However, ESPN’s Jordan Reid would beg to differ. Reid, on his list, clearly stated that Hunter would be the perfect interchangeable defense for the Seahawks. This makes sense cause the Seahawks already have 2 amazing WRs on the team (Riq Woolen and Devon Witherspoon).

However, another surprise pick could be the Raiders. We all know that HC Antonio Pierce and Deion Sanders are on good terms. So adding Hunter to the team makes perfect sense. Also, if we look back at what Matt McChesney mentioned on August 13th, the Hunter and Pierce pairing checks out. McChesney had noted that Hunter deserved to get drafted by someone young and smart. This would allow for a perfect use of Hunter’s skill on both offense and defense. However, before we reach that point, the Buffs and Travis have to clear out the 2024 season first. Let’s see how they do it.